CAITRIONA O'SULLIVAN

STITCH | CUT | WEAVE

The project considers women in Islamic culture and within the area of Balat, the nature of textiles and their importance in Istanbul and proposes a radical new program to challenge poverty in the city. Manifesting programmatically as a Women’s Textile Cooperative in the area of Balat.

Istanbul has a rich textile heritage. The Muslim women’s headscarves are also a constant textile presence in the city of Istanbul, and an inspiration for the project. In Balat scarves, rugs and washing lines are a colourful reminder of the importance of textiles in Turkey and Istanbul. The migrants in Balat come predominantly from and area of the Black Sea and bring with them particularly textile skills.

Inspired by ‘White Butterfly Laundries’ in rural areas of Turkey the program includes a laundry as a social space for the community and also an industrial laundry is a commercial interest for the co-operative. The program also aims to tackle other social issues through the inclusion of a kindergarten, literacy centre and women’s tearooms.

The process of textile recycling becomes central to the project informing the form of the building and the spaces within it. At times in the co-operative the spinning threads or weaved fabric starts to influence and define spaces.